Mystery surrounds posters advertising a 'money launderette' that have popped up at a former town bank.

The signs on the old Barclays in Whitstable High Street advertise apparently fictitious company D&S, which boasts to have been "launderers to the lauded for over 200 years".

The convincing-looking posters feature fake testimonies from people connected to Vladimir Putin, and the slave trade.

A 'quote' from Sebastian Marroquin, son of Colombian drug tycoon Pablo Escobar, reads: "My family's future would never have been secure without D&S".

Others 'quoted' in the posters include Putin's rumoured mistress, gymnast Alina Kabaeva; and slave trader Sir John Gladstone, who died in 1945.

The signs also feature slogans such as "all currencies cleaned, all assets realised", "tax free guaranteed" and "welcoming customers from Columbia, Ecuador, China & all former and future CCCP states".

A fake planning application notice has also been put up at the premises, which has stood empty since it was vacated by Barclays last January.

The notice - complete with a Canterbury City Council logo - advertises an application to change the use of the building from a Barclays bank to 'D&S International Banking Launderette', but contains a number of typos.

The posters have sparked confusion, with one social media user writing "This must be a joke surely?" while another responded "Apparently not!"

Another wrote: "Is this an art …thing? I’m confused".

There has been speculation the posters were installed as part of Whitstable Biennale - a popular arts festival held in the town last month.

But the Biennale says it is not responsible for the posters or counterfeit planning application.

A spokesman said: "We did recently use the old bank building as a venue for this year’s Whitstable Biennale, which included a series of posters installed on the outside of the building, and this is probably where the suggestion of our involvement has come from."

But they added that the Biennale work - a series of poems - were removed from the bank about a fortnight ago.